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Loire Valley and Smart White Buys By John Szabo MS with wine notes from David Lawrason and Sara d’Amato The Loire Valley is one of my favourite regions. Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé remain world sauvignon benchmarks. Cabernet franc from the appellations around Tours and Saumur define the perfumy cool climate style. Chenin reigns supreme east […]More

Sterling Napa Valley Chardonnay 2012 (aka Quacks Like a Duck) After weeks of battling for position and points, only six contestants have advanced to the Semi Finals of “So, You Think You Know Wine?” John Szabo, David Lawrason and Jennifer Huether qualified as group two of the semi-finalists, and they will be up next time. Sara d’Amato, […]More

A Record Medal Haul, A Widening Range of WinesJuly 29, 2015 by David Lawrason The results of the 2015 National Wine Awards of Canada are out (read on or skip to the results), with more medals handed out than Canadian athletes won at the Pan American games that wrapped up Sunday in Toronto (they won […]More

Merlot

Merlot is a red wine grape that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. Merlot-based wines usually have medium body with hints of berry, plum, and currant. Its softness and "fleshiness", combined with its earlier ripening, makes Merlot a popular grape for blending with the sterner, later-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon, which tends to be higher in tannin. Along with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, Merlot is one of the primary grapes in Bordeaux wine where it is the most widely planted grape. Merlot is also one of the most popular red wine varietals in many markets.